Untouched (Angel episode)
"Untouched" is episode 4 of season 2 in the television show Angel, originally broadcast on the WB network. In this episode, a vision from Cordelia leads Angel to Bethany, a runaway teen who possesses barely controlled telekinetic powers. Unbeknownst to Angel, Lilah has brought Bethany to Los Angeles, hoping to groom her into being an assassin for Wolfram & Hart. Lilah attempts to provoke violent episodes in Bethany in order for Wolfram and Hart to gain control of the teen. First she has her cornered in an alley by potential rapists hired by Wolfram and Hart, and then she has her sexually abusive father appear and try to take Bethany back home. Meanwhile, Darla continues to plague Angel's dreams and Angel finds himself sleeping longer and longer hours. Synopsis Lilah sneaks into Lindsey's office to rifle though his papers, not realizing Darla is already in the room. When she makes her presence known, Darla reveals she has been using a drug called Calynthia powder to keep Angel asleep while she manipulates his dreams. Angel wakes to find Cordelia and Wesley bickering about whether they should offer to pay Gunn. As Wesley and Angel discuss the vampire's sleeping habits, Cordelia suddenly gets a vision that sends Angel out to save a young girl from two men trying to attack her. As the men are about to make their move, she telekinetically slides a dumpster across the alleyway and uses it to crush them against the wall. At the crime scene, Angel pretends to be a detective in order to get information about the crime from an officer. He wanders inside an old building and finds the young girl from the alley. Panicked, she sends a rebar through Angel's chest, although she calms down when she realizes the act didn't kill him. Unwilling to give much information, and warning him to stay away, the girl leaves, but not before Angel gives her his card. The girl returns to the apartment where she is staying, and it is revealed that she is staying with Lilah. Gunn stops by Angel Investigations to offer his help and Angel sends him out to find information on the men Bethany killed. As Bethany drifts off to sleep, she dreams of her abusive childhood and unconsciously sends a bedside lamp flying. It hits Lilah, who had been watching her fitful sleep, and as she recovers, Bethany runs out the door. She seeks Angel's help at Angel Investigations, and they discuss how she cannot control her telekinetic powers. At Wolfram & Hart, Holland and Lilah talk about Bethany, who Lilah discovered, and has been grooming (unbeknownst to Bethany) to become an assassin for Wolfram & Hart. Holland stresses that if Lilah's work with Bethany is unsuccessful, it could damage their other projects. As Angel talks to Bethany, Wesley realizes her powers have arisen from having been sexually abused by her father. He then pointedly mentions her father, which causes her to lose control and hurl he and Angel through the air. That night, Bethany finds Angel in his bed and she offers herself to him, as the abuse she has suffered has led her to believe that she is just an object for men's amusement. He declines, and after they talk, he sends her back to her own bed. After Angel helps Bethany work to control her power, he meets Gunn at one of the attacker's apartment. He brings up the payment idea and Gunn agrees, meaning that Gunn is now officially part of Angel Investigations. They find evidence that someone paid for the attack on Bethany. Cordelia talks to Bethany over coffee, trying to convince her that she is no longer just a victim, that she has great power and she can choose how to use that power, and her choices so far have not been good ones. Then, Wolfram & Hart's men arrive and kidnap Bethany. Angel and Gunn go after the men and Angel is able to get Bethany back from them. Wolfram & Hart decide to increase the pressure and they send Bethany's father to intercept her. This causes her to blindly panic and she lets out a blast of telekinetic power. All of the windows in the building explode, and both Angel and Cordelia are thrown backwards. She hurls her father out a window, seemingly to his death, but just before he hits the ground, she remembers Angel and Cordelia's teachings and chooses to not kill her father. Later, she packs up her things in the apartment while Lilah and Angel have a chat at the door. Angel comments that Lilah needs to find someone else's mind to play with, and as he leaves with Bethany, Lilah mutters that they already have, referring to him and Darla. Continuity *Gunn officially joins Angel Investigations in this episode. *Cordelia refers to the Buffy episode "Lovers Walk" when she was impaled by a rebar. *The dream Darla is giving Angel is of his murder of a gypsy girl. Though not explicitly stated, this is likely supposed to be the same event shown in flashback in "Five by Five", the turning point in Angel's life, although the dream sequence does not match exactly with the flashback. The aftermath of this event is shown in the Buffy episode "Becoming, Part One" — the gypsy girl's family curses Angel by restoring his soul. *This is the first appearance of Gunn's hubcap axe. *Cordelia claims "You can't fire me", foreshadowing Angel doing exactly that: he fires all of his employees a few episodes later. Body Count *Two attackers, crushed by Bethany Chaulk's telekinesis with a dumpster Behind the Scenes Production *This is the first episode to be written by Mere Smith, who would remain as one of the show's main writers until the end of the fourth season. *This is the only episode directed by Joss Whedon which he didn't also write. Pop Culture References *When Bethany visits Angel in his room after Angel awakes from his dream with Darla, Bethany comments about how she can make Angel happy. Angel replies, "You wouldn't like me when I'm happy." This is a spoof of the popular phrase "You wouldn't like me when I'm angry" by David Banner from The Incredible Hulk television series. It also references to the similarity between Angel and Banner in the way in which they both transform into 'beasts' when they experience a certain strong emotion. Whereas Banner's is anger, Angel's is true happiness. *A cop is referring to Saturday Night Live when he is joking to Angel "Oh, no, Mr. Bill!"". International titles *'German: '''Außer Kontrolle ''(Out of Control) *'French: '''Intouchable ''(Untouchable) Music *Opus Music Library - "At the Fairground" *Robert J. Kral - "Untouched/Darla's Fire" *Robert J. Kral- original score Goofs, Bloopers & Continuity Errors *When Bethany is confronting her father in the hotel, we initially see Angel lying on the ground behind her father, as seen over Bethany's shoulder. In the next two shots from this angle, Angel is standing up, clearly pinned against the wall. Moments later, however, Angel is lying on the ground again, then stands up and is pinned against the wall by Bethany's power. *The gypsy girl in Angel's dream is not the same girl in "Five by Five" who was a thin brunette while in this episode she has a thicker build with blonde hair. Quotes External links * * Category:Angel (season 2) episodes Category:2000 American television episodes Category:Incest in television Category:Psychic powers in fiction Category:Television episodes directed by Joss Whedon